Freightliner has reintroduced an intermodal rail service linking Teesport in the Northeast of England with Southampton on the South Coast. It marks the return of a route that had quietly fallen off its published timetable.
The service operates via Doncaster and is aimed at customers seeking an efficient, greener alternative to road haulage for long-distance container flows. Its relaunch comes at a time when Teesport, now part of the Teesside Freeport, is being promoted as a major logistics hub with customs and tax advantages designed to stimulate trade and inward investment.
The link is enabled by the purpose-built £3 million (€3.54m) intermodal rail terminal at Teesport, developed by PD Ports in 2014, when Freightliner moved from its older facility – a repurposed terminal amidst a chemicals and industrial estate. The Freeport designation adds extra significance, offering businesses connected to the terminal access to streamlined customs procedures and fiscal incentives. For freight customers, the combination of a direct intermodal rail connection between two freeport sites is undoubtedly attractive.
Strategic shift from Wilton
Freightliner previously operated an intermodal terminal near Wilton International, part of the Teesside chemical complex north of Middlesbrough, and now part of the regenerative freeport initiative. While effective for industrial flows, Wilton required extra road haulage to reach Teesport, reducing competitiveness and limiting intermodal throughput. In 2014, Freightliner closed the Wilton terminal and relocated operations to Teesport, where direct integration with port infrastructure streamlined container handling.
Wilton International retains extensive rail sidings and a private network connecting to the national rail system, supporting industrial flows such as household waste and chemical feedstock movements. However, the relocation to Teesport enabled Freightliner to centralise intermodal operations on a site now boosted by Freeport status, creating a compelling proposition for shippers looking to combine rail efficiency with economic incentives.
Investment in Teesport
The PD Ports terminal features modern sidings, cranes, and handling equipment capable of moving standard and high-cube containers quickly and efficiently. Initially, the facility allowed Freightliner to offer direct connections to Southampton and Felixstowe, helping establish Teesport as a key north-east intermodal hub.
Today, as part of the Freeport, the terminal offers additional advantages such as simplified customs clearance, tax reliefs, and accelerated handling for import-export flows. For Freightliner, the Teesport terminal represents an affirmation of its intermodal expansion plans. It also offers a foothold in a government-backed trade zone.
Reintroduction of the Southampton service
Freightliner’s original Teesport–Southampton route, launched in 2014, appears to have been withdrawn in the years that followed, with no flows listed in recent customer timetables. The current announcement signals the reinstatement of this corridor as part of a new daily Southampton–Doncaster service, which will continue through to Teesport.
Looking ahead, the corridor offers potential for expansion beyond Southampton, potentially connecting with markets in Scotland, the Midlands, and the North West. Rail freight operators tend to be coy about freight services that quietly drop from the timetable. It does mean that announcements for new services need to be scrutinised carefully. However, there is room to celebrate the reintroduction of a service, no matter what the circumstances may be.
Freeport incentives are attracting new business to Teesport. The route strengthens the UK’s intermodal network, a sector that makes up almost half of all modern rail freight movements. All that said, any growth in the North East’s underperforming economic base is welcome.